Soccer Headline

Freshman Karly Findorff picked the perfect time
to score her first, then second, collegiate goals as the No. 3 seeded Florida
soccer team (17-4-2, 9-2 SEC) opened NCAA Championship play with a 3-0 win over
Miami (9-7-5, 4-4-2 ACC) Friday evening in front of a chilly James G. Pressly
Stadium crowd of 1,032.

Findorff,
who had turned in eight shots on goal in 2007 from her center midfield
position, found the back of the net twice within a two-minute span to open up a
tense, scoreless match to a 2-0 Gator lead.

Did You Know…

KarlyFindorff is the second Gator to
score her first collegiate goal in NCAA Championship play. Then freshman Katie Johnston scored the only goal of
her collegiate career to tie Santa Clara in
2001 NCAA semifinal action in Dallas,
Texas.

Her first
score at 60:26 came off a four-yard header set up by a Lauren Hyde free kick. Less than a minute and a half later,
Findorff struck again, this time scoring on a four-yard shot. She was set up by
Ameera Abdullah, who showed some
nice footwork to bring the ball down the right side and into the box. Deep in
the UM box, Abdullah sends the ball across the box. Megan Kerns looks to make a
play at the corner of the six-yard box, but she lets the ball continue to
Findorff who finishes it into the far corner.

“I’ve been
waiting for one of those for awhile. I hit a few posts earlier in the season so
getting that is a great thing. I give total credit to Lauren (on the first
goal),” Findorff said. “We won the game so that’s all that matters.”

For Florida, it was the
seventh time this season the Gators scored twice within a three-minute span.

Florida scored again at 76:57 when Ashlee Elliott took a shot in the box
that was deflected back into the box by the goalkeeper. Ashley Harris tracked it down just wide of the six-yard box and
sent the five-yard shot into the far post corner. It was her eighth goal of the
season, which stands her third among the 2007 Gators in goals and points (19).

Florida’s goalkeepers split halves for the
ninth consecutive match and both made needed saves to give the Gators the
school-record tying 15th shutout of the season. The Hurricanes had
numbers in the box in the 28th minute as Florida had trouble clearing the ball from
danger. UF goalkeeper Meghan Berlingo
came out to end the play just above the six-yard box in the midst of three
orange jerseys. Late in the second half, Miami’s
Beverly Goebel made a nice turn in the box and took a left-footed shot, but Katie Fraine made the stop on the hard
shot.

Florida was happy advance, but UF Head
Coach Becky Burleigh is looking for
improved play from the Gators on Sunday.

“I’d like
to give credit to Miami.
I thought they really took us out of our rhythm in the first half,” Burleigh
said. “I certainly didn’t think we played as well as were capable of playing,
but we’re going to have to step it up and make a few adjustments if we want to
go deep into the tournament.”

Florida will now face UCF in NCAA Second
Round action on Sunday, Nov. 18. In the Golden Knight’s last NCAA Championships
appearance in 2004, UCF upset Florida
3-2 in opening round action at Pressly Stadium.

Match time
is set for 1 p.m. at Pressly Stadium. Tickets for Sunday’s second round are
$7.00 for adults and $3.00 for children 17 and under and senior citizens. The
first 200 UF students to show identification at the gate will be admitted free.
Streaming video and audio of Sunday’s match is available free on www.GatorVision.tv.
Live statistics and audio of Sunday’s action can be found on the official
website of the Florida Gators – www.GatorZone.com.